UF women get No. 9 seed in NCAA Tournament

Florida will face No. 8 Ohio State in Bowling Green

March 13, 2012|By Rachel George, Orlando Sentinel

GAINESVILLE – Florida's women's basketball team received an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament on Monday, picking up a No. 9 seed. The Gators, who were one of the last four in the field, will face eighth-seeded Ohio State on Sunday at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Tipoff is set for 12:15 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

Florida (19-12) earned its 13th ever bid in the tournament and first since 2009. The Gators lost to eventual national champion and No. 1 overall seed Connecticut that year in the second round. They are 10-11 all-time in NCAA play.

"This team has had that idea right there in the forefront of their mind all season long," said coach Amanda Butler. "Game one loss vs. Michigan all the way through the SEC Tournament and this is absolutely what they deserved. It's just fun. There's so many tense moments, so many disappointing moments, great moments, hard moments, a lot of hard work that goes in. For all of that, to be able to culminate in that sort of a celebration, I just think it's really cool and I'm happy for our players."

Butler has led UF to postseason appearances in each of her five seasons as coach of her alma mater. Florida is in a postseason tournament for the 18th time in the past 20 years. It's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance was against Bowling Green on its campus in 1993 when Butler was a junior in the program.

Sunday's game is Florida's first ever meeting with Ohio State.

The winner advances to face top-seeded Baylor (34-0) or 16th-seeded UC Santa Barbara (17-5) in the second round.

The Gators' veteran team was one of eight from the SEC to make the tournament, tying the Big East with the most from any conference in this year's tournament. The SEC has eight teams in for the third time in its history, matching 1999 (the first year any conference accomplished that) and 2002.

"We had eight in the SEC and at least four teams we played in non-conference so we're battle-tested," said senior Jordan Jenkins. "And like I said before, people are going to say, "You're playing this team," or "You're playing that team," - We play in the SEC. We play the best of the best so there's definitely nothing to be scared of and it's just an exciting time for us."

The Gators' season was filled with close games. Of their 12 losses, 10 came by six points or less. That included three losses by a total of 12 points to Kentucky, the regular season champion. The Wildcats eliminated Florida in the second round of the SEC Tournament on March 2.

"If you're filling out a bracket, I think a lot of people look for experience and then a good post game is something that can consistently carry you," said Jones. "With the way Jennifer George has been playing all season long and then Azania Stewart playing her best basketball late in the season here, I like our chances."